The Bare Necessities

 Living without all of our "stuff" made us appreciate it all the more when it finally arrived.  Our belongings were delayed in being delivered to us due to the company not having a driver "available" to take the load.  We were quite disappointed with the delay, but we survived:)

We had a generous and gracious couple from our congregation house us for a week & then we decided to move in to our new home with just a few (borrowed) bare necessities.  It was challenging in some ways, but in many ways it was easier than dealing with all of our "stuff" when it finally did arrive.  Unpacking all of the boxes & finding a new home for all of our possessions was quite a daunting task.  But, thanks to my wonderful husband who can't stand to live amongst clutter...we tackled the job quite efficiently.  

The kids keeping themselves occupied with coloring amongst our almost toy-free home.

Kaia's Room

Jacobi's Room

Mommy & Daddy's Room

Our new home.

Unloading a few things from the church to get us by until our belongings arrived.

Checking on our new pets that came with the house:)

Jacobi watching a movie while Mommy & Grandma paint

Kaia initiating a wrestling match;)

I think she won!

Tent fun!

Hallelujah!  Our things have finally arrived!

So much packing paper.

Thrilled to have their own beds & so many "new" books that they had forgotten about:)

Working Backwards

Since it's been quite a while, ok almost a year since I last updated this thing, I figured it might be easier for me to catch up if I work backwards.  So, here we go!

Our family has been on quite the adventure over the last two months.  July 1st we packed up our home in Wadena, said (tear-filled) "goodbyes" or "see ya laters" to many wonderful friends(who became like family to us), visited family in ND & IA & then headed East to our new home.  July 9th we became first-time home buyers!  July 29th is when an 18-wheeler showed up to our new home to deliver our belongings.  Yes, we lived for almost 3 full weeks without them.  It wasn't ideal.  But, we survived & we learned that we actually need very little to live day to day.  We had a gracious couple from our new church family host us for a week & then we moved into our new home with minimal (borrowed) furnishings, bedding & kitchenware until our own belongings arrived.  We were SUPER excited when the truck pulled up!  The kids went to play at the above mentioned couple's house while Adam & I took inventory of each item/box that was hauled off of the truck.  It about killed me to not be able to rip open boxes & start putting things away immediately, but per the truck driver's request I refrained;)  He wanted to ensure that everything was present & accounted for before we began the unpacking process.

And so, here we are, August 29, 2014  & we are mostly unpacked & feeling more at home each day.  While we waited for our things to arrive my mom (who came to help us unpack...Ha!) & I were able to get a few painting projects done.  As time goes on & we get pictures/wall hangings hung I will post more pictures of the house.

To the few that read this blog, thank you for your patience while I took a LONG break!  ;)

Here are some before & after pictures of what we call the "Upstairs Bonus Room".  It is just off of our dining room & we are using it as an office/play area. 

 Before & after pics of the kid's bathroom.  

Before & after pics of our master bathroom.  

I never thought I cared much about having master bathroom.  

After further review, I have to say its a great bonus/luxury!  

 It's hard to see the true color in the after pics, but we went with a light blue.  

Since we have a "lovely" blue shower we used white on the walls around the shower.  

The crazy part of unpacking...buried in packing paper!